As part of the AFLOWT Project SEAI attended the Oceans Conference in Limerick from 5th to 8th June 2023. The conference was held in University of Limerick Concert Hall. OCEANS is the bi-annual event for global marine technologists, engineers, students, government officials, lawyers, and advocates. The conference is the flagship event of the Marine Technology Society and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society. The event featured an associated trade exhibition with companies and institutions representing the wide range of activities found in the marine community.
SEAI had a display stand showcasing the AFLOWT project and the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS), which is one of the five test sites being supported by the AFLOWT project. Ireland’s Offshore Renewable Energy testing infrastructure, Ocean Energy Ireland, is made up of three test sites which allow technologies to progress from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1 to 9. Located in Cork, Lir National Ocean Test Facility is a custom designed test facility for laboratory testing of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy devices. It houses Ireland’s only infrastructure for small to medium scale laboratory testing of ocean and maritime systems catering for TRL 1 to 3. SmartBay is Ireland’s national marine test and demonstration facility for the development of innovative products and services for the global maritime sector. The test site is located 4.5km east of Spiddal in County Galway approximately 1.5km offshore. The test site is suitable for developers wishing to undertake low-cost sea trials and validation of devices and components at various TRLs from 4 to 6. AMETS caters for TRL 7 to 9 and brings technologies to commercialisation. AMETS has two test sites between 6km and 16km of the Mayo Coast of Ireland and is suitable for wind and wave energy converters.
Information was available about the progress made in development of AMETS and the infrastructure required to make it a prominent ocean energy test site.
The conference facilitated guest speakers. A presentation was prepared outlining the AFLOWT Project, the environmental characteristics of AMETS and the testing process in Ireland from small scale testing right through to commercialisation, involving Lir NOTF and SmartBay. Other speakers and topics of interest include Aldert Otter from Electricity Supply Board and Margaret Cullen from UCC MaREI who’s topics covered “A review of the challenges faced by floating offshore wind developments around the coast of Ireland” and “Data-driven assessment of the Survivability and Maintainability of Offshore Renewable Energy devices in Ireland’s harsh maritime climate” respectively.